Mission Statement
The Fire Shelter and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Subcommittee (FSPPES) provides interagency leadership and oversight in all areas of fire shelter and PPE program management.
- Provide input to the National Training and Development Program (NTDP) regarding fire shelter and PPE specifications.
- Support continuous improvement of fire shelters and PPE programs.
- Assist with the development of fire shelter and PPE training.
- Coordinate with NTDP and other pertinent entities to accomplish the subcommittee’s mission.
- Communicate pertinent fire shelter and PPE information effectively.
Fire Shelter Product Review
A comprehensive five year Fire Shelter Review was completed in May, 2019. The results determined retaining the use of the current fire shelter. The study indicated that the current fire shelter continues to provide the most practical amount of protection given the tradeoffs of weight, volume (bulk), durability, and material toxicity.
Executive Board Memo 19-001: Acceptance of the NWCG Equipment Technology Committee recommendation to retain use of the current fire shelter- ETC Memo 19-01: Outcome of Fire Shelter Review Project
- Frequently Asked Questions about Fire Shelters
- NIFC News Release: National Wildfire Coordinating Group Recommends Current Fire Shelter
- There was a comprehensive study to review fire shelter options that ended in 2014. View the results.
Relevant NFES Cache Memos
- 2009-3 Re-bagging New Generation Fire Shelters
- 2007-4 Fire Shelter Polyvinyl Bag Retrofit
- 2005-4 New Generation Fire Shelter Exchanges
- 2005-1 Completion of New Generation Fire Shelter Retrofit Program
- 2004-1 New Generation Fire Shelter Retrofit Plan
Fire Shelter Deployments: Stories and Common Insights" is a program developed by the US Forest Service Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC) that will help you understand what you may experience in a fire shelter deployment.
Watch videos featuring fire shelter deployment stories including:
Watch videos featuring common insights for the following topics:
Equipment reports looking into fire shelters and their use during the past few years are contained within many accident reviews and reports. These can be found at the Incident Reviews page of the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center website. Specific reports are linked below.
Fire Shelter (M-2002) Deployment Statistics
Instructions
- Fire Shelter Training Reminders – 2019
- Flyer - Instructions for Refolding the Practice Fire Shelter
- Fire Shelter Use Instructions
Videos
The New Generation Fire Shelter
Video Length: 25:27
Video: Refolding Your Practice Fire Shelter
Video Length: 3:40
The following training information is available to order through NFES Publication Catalog: